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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24571756">you'll never sink when you are with me</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/sheriffandsteel/pseuds/sheriffandsteel'>sheriffandsteel</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>A Song of Ice and Fire &amp; Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Modern Westeros, Slow Burn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 04:06:52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>15,629</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24571756</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/sheriffandsteel/pseuds/sheriffandsteel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When Arya walked into the Seaside Diner, she was only looking for a hot meal and a chance to get off her bike for a few hours. She walked out with a job and a deep dislike for one of the diner’s owners. It wasn’t the need for money that made her take the job, or even the puppydog eyes the other owner kept giving her. Arya agreed to it because after so many years on the move, she suddenly found herself wondering if she even remembered how to stand still.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Arya Stark/Gendry Waters</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>166</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>you'll never sink when you are with me</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Written for the Gendrya Big Bang!<br/>Check out the awesome <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1Vl8h2G0oTSgjRNvAJXqqN?si=P4BvK_qWSS2oupbk5SR-3Q"> playlist</a> <a href="https://softeddiek.tumblr.com/">@softeddiek</a> made!<br/>title from the Lumineers ‘Dead Sea’</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The ‘N’ and the ‘R’ had burned out.  </p><p>That was the first thing Arya noticed as she pulled into the surprisingly full parking lot, easing her bike into a small space at the edge of the gravel lot. The large neon sign resting atop the fading building’s roof was loudly proclaiming to every passing motorist, ‘SEASIDE DIE’. Not exactly the most enticing name to get people to come in but judging by how crowded it was at 9pm on a Tuesday night Arya didn’t think that many people were deterred from it. </p><p>It helped that the diner was the first place for food that Arya had seen in close to three hours, gas station snacks notwithstanding. The city limits of Storm’s End were only twenty miles away but on these curvy coastal roads twenty miles was still at least another forty minutes. The grumbling in Arya’s stomach was not about to be silenced for that long. </p><p>Removing her helmet Arya ran her fingers through her choppy hair. It had grown almost to her shoulders in the time she’d been away and as always, she found herself longing for a pair of scissors to lop it all off again. She tucked her helmet under her arm and made her way across the cracked pavement of the lot to the front door of the diner, the smell of fried food and the sound of several conversations and laughter hitting her before the door was even open. </p><p>There was no hostess stand so Arya assumed this was a seat yourself kind of place which worked best for her anyway. She surveyed the room full of men with thick beards and women in flannel shirts and felt some of the tension in her shoulders relax. This was far more her scene than the uptight frivolousness of King’s Landing which she had spent the day driving through mountains and woods to get away from. She felt like she hadn’t been able to flee that city fast enough.  </p><p>Looking around Arya felt her empty stomach drop as she realized there were no empty tables in sight. She made her way hopefully over the long counter hoping to at least find a free barstool but those were all occupied as well. She wondered if it was always this crowded here or if there had been something special happening that night. It didn’t really matter to her, she just wanted to eat whatever it was that smelled so good her mouth was watering.  </p><p>Leaning against the edge of the counter Arya looked around the room again and realized one of the tables in the back corner wasn’t being used after all. She had thought it was taken because there were still dishes piled up on it but upon closer inspection, she saw that the plates were scraped clean and there was no one in the cracked vinyl booth.  </p><p>The door to the kitchen burst open and a harried looking woman came out shouldering a huge tray of food that looked like it weighed more than she did. There was another waitress taking a drink order for a table up front and no other staff in sight. Arya looked behind the counter again and saw an empty gray tub she’d seen in other restaurants that were used for busing dirty dishes. Deciding it would quicker for her to clean off the table herself than wait for one of the waitresses to have a free moment Arya stepped around the edge of the counter and grabbed the tub, resting it on one hip and holding her helmet in the other.  </p><p>It only took her a moment to clean off the dishes on the table, whoever had sat there had been considerate enough to stack them into piles. Arya left her helmet on the table to claim it before hoisting the tub in her arms and taking another look around the restaurant. Both the servers were still busy with their tables so Arya shrugged to herself before heading back behind the counter and through the door into the kitchen. In for a penny in for a pound, right? </p><p>The heat of the kitchen hit her full force and despite the chill of the night air outside Arya suddenly felt like she was stifling in her leather jacket. She cast a quick look around before she located a heavy industrial looking dishwasher and carefully made her way over to it to set the tub of dirty dishes next to another overflowing tub. </p><p>“Who the fuck are you?” a deep voice suddenly cut through the classic rock music playing from a staticky radio Arya couldn’t locate and she looked over her shoulder to see an impossibly tall man glaring at her as he wiped his hands off on a towel. </p><p>Her gut reaction was to snap something snarky at him but Arya reminded herself she did just walk into his kitchen uninvited so she managed to hold her tongue.  </p><p>“Arya. I wanted a clean table and the servers were busy so...” she shrugged and gestured to the tub of dishes that were pretty self-explanatory.  </p><p>“You always just go wherever you want to Arya?” the man asked, narrowing his electric blue eyes at her and saying her name in far too mocking of a tone for her patience to handle, especially when she was this hungry. </p><p>Arya huffed in annoyance and opened her mouth to let out a biting retort when another voice called out from deeper in the kitchen.  </p><p>“Don’t be a dick. We need all the help we can get tonight.” a large curly haired man popped into view from behind a metal shelf of clean dishes and waved a spatula at her. “I’m Hot-Pie. That charming arsehole is Gendry. Bella and Mya are the ones running around in circles out front. Ned caught the stomach flu and Anguy’s out of town this week. We’ve never been this short staffed on trivia night. You ever wait tables before?”  </p><p>Blinking at the sudden onslaught of information Arya shook her head slowly, shooting Gendry a glare to match his before focusing back on Hot-Pie who was grinning at her in a hopeful way. </p><p>“Wanna give it a try?”  </p><p>Three hours later Arya all but fell into a chair at the counter, sighing in relief as the pressure lifted from her feet. Her combat boots were great for lots of things but that didn’t mean they were the most comfortable things to stand in after spending a day on her bike.  </p><p>A plate of fried food goodness was suddenly slammed down in front of her and Arya looked up to see Gendry looking down at her. He wasn’t glaring at her exactly but he still looked at her like she did something to personally wrong him. Arya rolled her eyes at him and the proud part of her wanted to shove his food away but her stomach let out a large rumble then and she pulled the plate towards her gratefully, already shoving a French fry into her mouth.  </p><p>“Thanks.” she mumbled around it, standing on the rungs of the stool to grab the bottle of ketchup as Gendry started wiping down the counter around her.  </p><p>“On the house. You earned it.”  </p><p>Arya was beginning to suspect surly was just how Gendry always sounded so she simply made a noise of agreement and kept eating until she actually felt like a person again.  </p><p>“Thanks again for helping out tonight. You really saved us.” Hot-Pie said when he came out of the kitchen to place a large slice of pie in front of her. Arya had thought she was full but one whiff of the smell of apples and cinnamon and she was reaching for a fork.  </p><p>“No problem. It was a nice change from how I’ve been spending my nights.” Arya admitted, her eyes closing in bliss at the taste of the pie.  </p><p>“What do you do?” Hot-Pie asked curiously as he slid onto the seat beside hers.  </p><p>Arya shrugged noncommittedly. “I’m between things at the moment.” She admitted. It was the truth technically; it just wasn’t about jobs like it sounded.  </p><p>“Are you looking for work? You should work here!” Hot-Pie smiled at her happily before looking over at Gendry who was stacking clean coffee mugs under the counter. He looked up at Hot-Pie with a wrinkled brow.  </p><p>“Hot-Pie...” Gendry began warningly. Arya rolled her eyes at him again and shoved another forkful of pie in her mouth to stop herself from saying something insulting. The food was way better than she’d expected and she didn’t want to do anything to stop herself from being able to eat it for however long she was in the area.   </p><p>“It’s a great idea!” Hot-Pie protested looking to Arya for backup. She just watched him curiously, chewing her food. “Lommy’s off at school for three more months and Mya will be working at that adventure camp this summer. We’re gonna need the help!”  </p><p>Gendry glared at him for a long moment before turning his bright blue eyes onto Arya. “Are you even local?”  </p><p>“I’m just passing through.” Arya admitted with a shrug. </p><p>“She’s just passing through.” Gendry repeated with a meaningful look to Hot-Pie like he hadn’t just heard what she’d said.  </p><p>For a moment the wide smile on Hot-Pie's face slipped and Arya felt a brief pang of sadness at its absence. Quick as a flash though it was back on his face and he was looking at her with a hopeful look that reminded Arya fondly of Nymeria when she was a puppy. </p><p>“Do you know how long you’ll be in town?” Hot-Pie asked. Arya had to admire his persistence.  </p><p>“No idea.” she admitted, she’d been flying without a map or a plan for so long that the idea of even knowing where she would be the day after tomorrow was inconceivable to her at this point.  </p><p>“Why don’t you work here until you leave?” Hot-Pie asked, making Arya raise her eyebrows at him in surprise.  </p><p>Either they were far more desperate to hire staff than she had realized or he could see the way all of this running was beginning to take its toll on her. She desperately hoped it was the first. Arya had spent years trying to make herself unknowable, she didn’t exactly like the idea that someone was able to see her so clearly so soon after meeting her. </p><p>Arya looked between Hot-Pie's puppy dog eyes to Gendry’s icy blue ones before taking another bite of pie to buy herself some time. The sugar melted on her tongue in a way that comfortingly reminded her of home and Arya found herself sighing despite herself. </p><p>“I guess I could work here for a little while.” </p><p> </p><p>By the end of her first week there were only three things that Arya did not like about her new job. Considering how she often didn’t like anything these days three things seemed like a very easy cross for her to bear. First there was the fact that the food smelled so good that she was hungry the entire time she was working. She felt certain her tables heard the growling of her stomach more than once. It was a pretty hard sound to miss she knew, sometimes she felt like it sounded like there was a small animal in there. </p><p>The second thing was that they were so close to the ocean. She would catch glimpses of it out of the windows during lulls in service and find herself wistfully wanting to go down the rickety stairs on the cliffside to the small beach below the diner. Usually by the time she got off shift the tide was in so the small beach was entirely underwater. Arya had always been considered reckless but not even she was foolish enough to go down those stairs when the tide was in. It made looking out at the water all day even more difficult, knowing that she could look at it as much as she wanted but she couldn’t go down there and touch it. </p><p>And of course, the third thing was Gendry. </p><p>He and Hot-Pie were both owners of the diner which they had opened only three years prior and as such both of them were there nearly every minute of the day. Arya liked Hot-Pie so she didn’t mind seeing him all the day but she was growing tired of the fact that she could never seem to escape Gendry or his constant glower.  </p><p>Thankfully the rest of the staff proved to be far better company than the boss, even if they were his sisters. Well, half-sisters apparently. Arya didn’t care enough to pry any more information about it but it seemed that their biological father had um, gotten around, according to Mya. There were nearly twelve of them scattered about the country and four of them in the Storm Lands alone. </p><p>Mya and Bella both worked at the diner although Mya was only part-time. Their youngest half-sister, Barra, was only six and Arya had met her the one day she had come in after school. It was weird watching Gendry sit and help her with her math homework while they shared a plate of french fries. If Arya hadn’t caught that little interaction, she would have been entirely convinced that Gendry did not know how to smile.  </p><p> </p><p>It was hard adjusting to being in one place for so long. It had been ten days since she had stumbled into the Seaside Diner and Arya found that while her skin was crawling with seeing the same faces everyday, she did not yet feel the burning need inside of her to run.  </p><p>She expected it to arrive at any moment.  </p><p>It was a Tuesday and she was off shift for that day but Arya still found herself pushing open the front door to the diner, surveying the nearly empty dining room to make sure it was clear of Gendry before heading to the office to get her paycheck. It was the first check she had ever earned herself and she found she was more excited by that thought than she would have expected.  </p><p>She had been planning to ask Hot-Pie where the best roads were in the area to ride on because she could not face the thought of spending the whole day cooped up in her motel room but a quick peek in the kitchen told her that he wasn’t there. Arya’s shoulders sagged in disappointment and she continued on to the office her brow furrowing in displeasure as she spotted Gendry frowning down at something on his desk.  </p><p>Arya knocked on the door lightly waiting for him to yell come in before she stepped inside, her hackles already raised. Something about Gendry just always made her feel on edge.  </p><p>“Checks are over there.” Gendry nodded to the bookcase across from him and Arya quickly walked over to pull the envelope with her name on it from the metal basket on the middle shelf.  </p><p>She turned to head out the door before she had to spend even a moment in unpleasant conversation with him when the sight of a faded red helmet with a bull printed on the side caught her eye on the floor by the desk.  </p><p>“Do you ride?” she asked in surprise. She didn’t pay enough attention to Gendry when he wasn’t snapping at her for the way she wrote up orders or for not smiling at customers enough (the hypocrisy of that statement, don’t even get her started) so she didn’t really know what he came to work on. She had him pegged for a jeep man though not a biker.  </p><p>Gendry made a grunt in confirmation without looking up from the ledger and while Arya knew he was clearly trying to rid himself of her she found herself lingering. She knew that she could just go out and explore the roads herself but these coastal roads could be dangerous and veer off unexpectedly. Besides, a local, especially one who rode a bike, would know the best places to ride.  </p><p>“Are there any good roads out here?” Arya asked before she could let herself think the better of it. Gendry paused and looked up at her with a frown. “You know a good scenic ride...” Arya trialed off cursing herself for even bringing it up or trying to engage him in a conversation when he clearly didn’t like her.  </p><p>She took a step backwards, biting her tongue as he still kept staring at her mutely. Even if she didn’t need this job, she still felt it would be bad form to snap at her boss so Arya mumbled a ‘never mind’ and made to go out the door. She was halfway out the door when Gendry’s voice behind her caused her to linger in the doorway.  </p><p>“Penrose Path.” Arya looked over her shoulder at him but he was already looking back down at his ledger and frowning down as if the numbers had personally offended him. She figured the expression on his face was more her fault though somehow. “It’s on the south end of the city, takes you right down to the water.”  </p><p>Arya nodded in thanks even though he wasn’t looking at her and wouldn’t see before she hurried out of the diner. She didn’t understand why that had been so hard. </p><p> </p><p>After depositing her check, she went back to the motel that had been her home for the last week and a half to change into clothes better suited for a long ride. Arya lingered over her things for a moment before she started to pack everything into her bag. She wasn’t even sure why she was doing it until she was heading out of her room to the front desk to check out.  </p><p>As she boarded her bike Arya knew that deep down, she had no plans of leaving Storm’s End that day but she was so used to traveling with all of her things on her that the thought of going all the way to the other end of town without her stuff seemed foolish. This way if the urge struck her to keep going out of the Storm’s Lands there would be nothing behind trying to pull her back to stay.  </p><p>It had been so long since she had stayed still for any number of time that she felt slightly uneasy with each passing day. She had started this journey as a way to avoid making any commitments so it was strange to be staying somewhere she felt like she could so easily do so.  </p><p>As Arya drove down the highway following the signs for Penrose Path, she let the roaring wind in her ears overpower all of her thoughts until that and the open road were all that she could focus on.  </p><p>Before too long she found herself on a curving mountain road going slowly lower and lower down the mountainside until it ended in a turnabout looking straight out at the ocean. Arya pulled her bike to a stop and dismounted, heading towards the stairs to the side before she had even unbuckled her helmet. The tide was out so she was able to walk straight down to the small strip of beach, the ground beneath her boots a coarse mix of sand and small pebbles that she could feel lodging themselves in the thread of her shoes with every step.  </p><p>Staring out at the churning waves Arya felt like she was at peace for the first time in a while but it had been so long that she felt anything remotely like that she wasn’t sure what she was really feeling. She didn’t know how long she would have stood out there silently watching the waves but after a while the tide started coming in and when the waves started reaching for the tips of her boots Arya finally conceded to the ocean and headed back up to her bike.  </p><p>When she reached the end of Penrose Path, she waited for a break in traffic to pull back out onto the highway, her backpack heavy on her shoulders. To her right was the open road leading inland towards Summerhall and to her left was the road she had traveled down that morning. In her mind Arya knew it was far simpler than that.  </p><p>To the right lay adventure and who knew what she would find that way. </p><p>To the left was the place she just left where each week would become more and more of the same.  </p><p>It had been so long since Arya had done any kind of returning to anywhere that she found herself wondering if she even knew how to do that anymore.  </p><p>Maybe that was the reason she turned herself left back towards Storm’s End or maybe it was something even simpler that she just wasn't letting herself acknowledge yet.  </p><p> </p><p>Before she really knew what was happening three weeks had passed.  </p><p>Arya had been living in the motel that whole time but the day before last Bella had caught sight of the motel key in Arya’s pocket and demanded to know if that was where she was living. Apparently, that just didn’t live up to her standards because before their shift was over Bella was offering Arya to come live in her spare room, as long as she didn’t mind sharing a house with Barra too, who according to Bella was the world’s messiest child. Arya didn’t have the heart to tell her that there was no way she was worse than Rickon.  </p><p>The day that Arya moved into the former guest bedroom Bella seemed incredibly shocked when she only brought the one bag in with her. Arya barely resisted the urge to roll her eyes at her expression. They all knew she traveled by motorbike, where did the girl think she had been hiding luggage? </p><p>“I can’t believe you travel so light.” Bella remarked, leaning her hip against the counter as Arya came back into the sunny kitchen after depositing her bag on her bed. Good thing Bella’s spare room was furnished or Arya would still be living in the motel. She wasn’t one for writing to do lists but if she was, buying furniture would likely never be on it. She didn’t like the hassle of having to get rid of things when she left places.  </p><p>“How long have you been traveling around?” Bella asked curiously, eyeing Arya over the rim of her mug. They were usually so busy at the diner when both girls were on shift that they’d never really had the time for heart to hearts.  </p><p>“Few years.” Arya shifted uncomfortably and hoped that Bella would drop it. She really didn’t like to talk about her past as that might bring up her family and that was a topic she steadfastly avoided these days, even in her own head.  </p><p>Thankfully Bella seemed to be picking up on whatever mood Arya was letting off because she quickly changed the subject to a movie that was coming out that weekend instead. </p><p> </p><p>Having a roommate was weird. Having two roommates, one of whom was six, was even weirder. Arya had lived alone for so long now that she was having a hard time adjusting to sharing space with anyone else, let alone time. Barra had taken a shine to her immediately and constantly wanted her attention whenever Arya was in the house. She was a sweet kid and endlessly entertaining (the best things about children Arya had decided was that they spoke without a filter, she always knew where she stood with Barra) but being around her drained Arya’s energy faster than anything else. She found herself grateful when Hot-Pie put her on the night shift for one week straight.  </p><p>Working on the night shift meant that she didn’t usually get home until near two or sometimes three in the morning depending on how busy they had been. By the time she woke up it would be midafternoon and Barra would still be at school and Bella was working days at the moment. Arya had the whole house to herself for usually three, sometimes four hours, if she woke up early enough. </p><p>One dreary Thursday afternoon she was in the small kitchen making herself some food when she heard a creak of a floorboard behind her. She hadn’t heard the door open but then again, her music was awfully loud at the moment. She had only heard the creak because it had come during a lull between songs. Bella didn’t have any pets and a quick glance at the clock on the stove told Arya it was far too early for either Bella or Barra to be home. She knew the noise could have just been the old house settling but Arya’s self-defense training (and her common sense) told her she had to at least check behind her before she ignored it. </p><p>Taking a deep breath Arya spun around, the knife she’d been using to chop up tomatoes still clutched in her hand. The speed of her spin caused some of the tomato juice to splatter off of the blade onto the floor. </p><p>“What the fu-” Gendry jumped back at the sight of the knife in her hands, glaring between the blade and Arya wielding it as if she was the one who had snuck up on him, in his house unannounced. </p><p>“What the seven hell are you doing here?” Arya asked, her voice steady despite the fact that her heart was racing. She really had thought it was just the house settling. Six weeks in the same place and she was already getting soft. </p><p>“Barra forgot her soccer uniform.” Gendry explained, reaching forward to push her arm with the knife away from his direction gingerly. Arya rolled her eyes at him and put it down on the counter before crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at him. </p><p>“And you don’t knock?” She rose her eyebrows as she glared at him, happy that her heartbeat was returning to normal. </p><p>A muscle in Gendry’s jaw clenched. “I did. You didn’t answer so I used my key.” he ground out between clenched teeth. “I also called your name. You must not have heard me over that music.” Arya could practically hear the quotation marks around the word music and her eye twitched as she glared at him so hard, she was mildly surprised he didn’t set on fire. </p><p>“The First Men practically invented punk rock.” Arya shot at him. The First Men had been her favorite band since she was old enough to understand the lyrics of the music she could hear coming from Jon’s room next to hers. She was not about to stand here and let this man insult them, especially since this was her house at the moment. </p><p>“Did they have too?” Gendry asked, wrinkling his nose.  </p><p>Arya scoffed and looked at him affronted. “What kind of music do you like? Florian?” Arya spit out the name of the pop star Sansa had spent her teenage years obsessed with and who Arya considered to be an insult to the music world.  </p><p>Gendry glared at her, his blue eyes icy and that muscle in his jaw clenching again. “You have that low of an opinion of me huh?”   </p><p>Blinking, Arya stared at him in surprise, unsure of whether she should answer that honestly or not.  </p><p>“Whatever.” Gendry said with a sigh, turning to leave the kitchen. Apparently, he had better things to do than stand and argue music taste with one of his employees outside of the diner. “I gotta get this uniform to Barra before practice. Sorry I scared you.”  </p><p>“You didn’t scare me.” Arya called after him. She’d be damned if she didn’t get the last word in her own house.  </p><p> </p><p>The best thing about her new living situation (other than the fact that she couldn’t hear the incessant whir of an ice machine through her walls) was the fact that Bella’s little house led straight down to the beach. Arya could watch the ocean from her window and she had taken to sleeping with it open so that the salty smell of the sea filled her senses and took over her dreams. </p><p>She escaped down to the water whenever she could, something about watching the waves crash against the sand so unforgivingly calmed her heart.  </p><p>The worst thing about her new living situation was the adage of more Gendry. She could no longer escape him, even when she wasn’t in the diner. Not only did he have a key but he also brought Barra home from school three days a week and often had to stop by the house to pick up some part of her soccer uniform that she always managed to forget no matter how carefully Bella packed her bag the night before. Arya hadn’t realized how close him and his sisters actually were or she would have seriously considered different lodging options.  </p><p>As it was, he came over nearly every day so adding up the fact that she saw him five days a week at the diner anyway and Arya figured she probably saw Gendry more than she did anyone else in her life. She supposed it wasn’t the worst thing in the world, as time went on, she found that the animosity between them was slowly leaking away like air out of a tire. Sure, they were constantly snapping at each other but she was beginning to realize that was just how they talked to each other. Moreover, that was really just how Gendry talked to everyone.  </p><p>Seeing the easy interactions of Bella and her sisters and Gendry reminded Arya of her family and she was surprised to find herself actually longing for them. They hadn’t exactly been on the best of terms since her sudden departure from Winterfell so Arya wasn’t exactly sure what she was supposed to do with this feeling. So, she did what she had become incredibly good at over the years and she bottled it up and ignored it. </p><p>To her surprise she was finding that Gendry wasn’t all terrible like she had thought. She’d been living with Bella for nearly two weeks when Gendry knocked on the door one afternoon when she was home alone. Arya answered it with her brows raised in surprise. </p><p>“Forget your key?” she asked, stepping back to let him into the house. </p><p>Gendry shook his head quickly making no move to step around her. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay with me coming over here.” Gendry said quickly, like he was afraid if he thought too hard, he wouldn’t say it at all. </p><p>Arya looked at him in surprise. “Why wouldn’t I be?” she asked slowly, before shaking her head. “They’re your sisters.”   </p><p>“I know it's just...” Gendry trailed off, before shrugging and looking up at her with a furrowed brow. “I’m your boss.” Gendry reminded her, running a hand over the back of his neck as he looked at her sheepishly. “I don’t want to come over here if it makes you uncomfortable.”  </p><p>Arya rolled her eyes at him even though part of her (a very tiny small part) thought that his concern was sweet. “I knew the risks when I moved in. It’s fine.”  </p><p>“You sure?” Gendry asked, shifting his weight clearly uncomfortable. Arya didn’t think he’d be very good at serious conversations. </p><p>“Just don’t make any moves on me and we’ll be fine.” Arya shrugged before moving to close the door.  </p><p>“Wouldn’t dream of it!” he called as the door shut on his voice and Arya rolled her eyes.  </p><p> </p><p>Sighing Arya pulled the hair tie off her ponytail and shook her hair loose. She really did need to cut it off soon. She leaned back against the wall of the diner and stared out at the ocean; the waves were surprisingly choppy for such a clear day. That was another thing she loved about the sea here, it played only by its own rules, its own moods. She wondered what it must feel like to be that completely free. </p><p>The sound of the backdoor opening beside her drew Arya’s attention away from the waves and she looked over curiously, expecting to see Hot-Pie or one of the girls. Instead she had to bite back a sigh as Gendry came out, his helmet under his arm and a bag slung over his shoulder.  </p><p>He looked at her wearily as if unsure if she was going to snap at him or not just by being next to her. Arya rolled her eyes at this. While Gendry and her were outwardly on no better terms than they were when they first met, she felt like the animosity between them was more of a game at this point.  </p><p>“You been to Durran’s Point yet?” Gendry asked suddenly, drawing Arya’s attention away from the water again to look at him in surprise. She couldn’t remember the last time he had asked her a question about her life or her activities outside of work, which she supposed meant that he had never done it at all. </p><p>She shook her head mutely, looking at him curiously. She wasn’t about to admit that she had never even heard of it.  </p><p>Gendry stared at her for a long moment, his dark brow furrowed in thought, before he gave one single curt nod as if he had come to some hard won decision in a silent battle within himself.  </p><p>“I’m headed up there now.” Gendry said, still staring at her like he expected something from her. Arya merely watched him in silence until he let out a long sigh before rubbing the back of his neck. “Wanna come with?” </p><p>Arya started in surprise, she hadn’t thought that they were on good enough terms to spend time together outside of the diner or Bella’s. A large part of her wanted to say no, Robb had called her that morning and she really didn’t feel like fighting with anyone else today. But another evening of Netflix stretched out before her and despite herself she was curious to see what Durran’s Point was, so before she could let herself think it through, she nodded. </p><p>Gendry nodded back before he led her around the corner to the parking lot where their bikes were parked next to each other. Arya fastened her helmet as Gendry cast her another look, fidgeting next to his bike. </p><p>“The roads pretty complicated.” he offered, and Arya rose her brows, wondering if he was now trying to back out of inviting her somewhere. He must not have thought she would accept and was now regretting extending the invitation. </p><p>“Pretty sure I can handle it.” Arya responded, throwing her leg over her bike and glaring at Gendry until he boarded his. </p><p> </p><p>Gendry wasn’t kidding, the road had to be the most complicated one she had ridden in Westeros. It was full of hairpin turns and steep inclines and one section that even took them downhill around a curve of the mountain before heading straight back up again. They didn’t pass a single car or motorcycle on the near hour it took them to make it up the road. The difficulty of the road made it impossible for Arya to think about anything other than controlling her speed and the next turn and by the time they were halfway up she had fallen into a state where she reacted entirely on instinct and it felt like there were no thoughts in her head at all. </p><p>It was surprisingly freeing. </p><p>The road came to a sudden stop at a flat stretch of near barren gray stone, only a few scraggly stubborn trees and weeds poking up through the cracks in the earth. It was the most desolate landscape Arya had ever seen. She got off her bike and walked closer to the edge, peering down to see huge waves crashing against jagged rocks far far below them. Free of her helmet her hair whipped like tendrils against her face and Arya pushed it stubbornly back behind her ears as she stared out at the churning sea.  </p><p>Storm’s End was far behind them and they had passed no other towns on their way to the mountain. From up here the only sounds were the wind and the waves so far beneath them. Everywhere Arya turned she could only see the sky and the sea and she felt her heartbeat begin to calm for the first time since her phone had rang that morning.  </p><p>“Did you bring me out here to murder me?” Arya couldn’t help but ask, pitching her voice to be heard over the wind.  </p><p>Gendry stood a few feet away from her, his hands stuffed deep into his pockets and his shoulders hunched against the wind. He shrugged casually at her question. “You caught me.”  </p><p>A surprised laugh bubbled past her lips, the sound of it drifting away in the raging wind. Arya turned her attention back to the sea and marveled again at how something could be so wild that no one would ever have any hope of taming it. </p><p>She didn’t know how much time passed as they stood there in silence, it could have been hours, it could have been minutes. She felt her mind go as blessedly blank as it had on the drive up and her breaths came easier the longer they stood up there. After a while she realized that Gendry was looking at her and not the water but for once she found she didn’t mind the feeling of someone’s eyes on her. After a few minutes had passed and she felt like he was still staring at her Arya could no longer hold it in and she turned to face him, her eyebrows raised in question.  </p><p>Gendry didn’t say anything he just quickly turned away from her to stare back out at the sea and since he had been the one to introduce her to this starkly beautiful place, she decided to let this one slide. She even pretended not to notice that the tips of his ears were bright red.  </p><p>They stood out there in silence until the sun began to dip down in the sky and Arya’s fingers were numb from the cold. As they began to make their way back down the mountain Arya realized with a shock that her and Gendry might actually be on their way to becoming friends.  </p><p>Or friendly at the very least. </p><p> </p><p>After their trip to Durran’s Point Arya began to catch Gendry looking at her from the corner of her eye. To her surprise she didn’t feel annoyed when she caught him, she only felt curious as to why he kept watching her. Even more curious as to why she kept finding her eyes drifting over to him whenever he was out on the diner floor.  </p><p>She had to remind herself that he was her boss and even more importantly he was kind of a dick. There was no reason to go seeking him out whenever they were in the same space because it wasn’t like it could or would ever amount to anything. Besides, she had already been in one place for near two months. It was getting time to start thinking about leaving.  </p><p>Although every time she tried to think about going anywhere else, she thought about the way the sea looked from up on the mountain or how comforting the food at the diner was and how calm Hot-Pie’s presence made her. She thought about helping Barra with her art projects and laughing late at night with Bella and Mya. In spite of herself she thought about Gendry, the way his icy blue eyes tracked her across the diner.  </p><p>The pang of sadness she now got whenever she thought of going on to her next adventure reminded her of a lesson she had learned the hard way long ago, leaving was always harder when you were leaving something behind. </p><p> </p><p>“Have you decided what you’re going to do?” Jon’s voice was slightly distorted over her phone’s speaker and Arya frowned at his image on her phone screen, wondering how he knew the dilemma she was struggling with. </p><p>“What do you mean?” she asked, picking at the skin by her thumbnail.  </p><p>“About college.” Jon said, his thick brow furrowing as he peered at her, his eyes squinting up at the corners the way they always did when he was deep in thought. </p><p>Arya shuddered at the dreaded word. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a conversation with someone in her family and it hadn’t come up.  </p><p>“Oh.” she sighed. “That.” </p><p>“You know you don’t have to go.” Jon reminded her softly.  </p><p>Arya rolled her eyes at that. “It's a good thing mom and dad can’t hear you say that.” As far as her parents were concerned a college education was as big a necessity as oxygen. </p><p>“I’m serious. You could join the Watch.” Jon told her for what had to be the eighth time that month alone.  </p><p>“We both know I’m not so good at following orders.” Arya reminded him, picking at her thumb harder. She didn’t understand why her family acted like she had only two options for her life. College or the military. Neither had ever felt like an option for her. </p><p>“I just want you to be happy.” Jon said softly causing Arya to sigh deeply. She watched Ghost lope into frame over his shoulder and focused on the dog’s wagging tail as Jon continued, “I’m just happy you’ve been in the same place for so long. I can’t remember the last time you got one of my letters without it having to be forwarded to you first.”   </p><p>“I still can’t believe you write me actual letters.” Arya admitted with an eye roll, refusing to let on that Jon’s letters never failed to brighten her day even though they texted each other nearly daily. The letters always felt like their own secret handshake.  </p><p>“You love it.” Jon said seriously, before Ghost nudged his arm and Jon scratched at his ears with a smile. “I’m glad you’ve finally found somewhere worth staying.”  </p><p>After they hung up that sentence kept running around in Arya’s head and she flopped onto her bed ungracefully and stared up at the ceiling in thought. To her surprise, hearing someone else mention how long she had been in one place didn’t immediately fill her with the desire to run. If anything, she felt like she wanted to stay there even longer.  </p><p> </p><p>Arya had never been really into celebrating her birthday. The rest of her siblings loved to throw parties or go on extravagant day trips on theirs but Arya had always been content with cake and the fact that neither her mother nor Sansa criticized her outfits on her birthday. That was about as celebratory as she liked to get. So, when Bella overheard Jon asking her what she was doing for her birthday that weekend she really wished she’d understood that when Arya said nothing it was because that was what Arya wanted to do.  </p><p>Instead Bella took it upon herself to throw Arya a birthday party, inviting everyone who worked at the diner to attend. Arya could think of worse things than spending her birthday in her own house surrounded by her coworkers but that still didn’t mean she enjoyed it.  </p><p>After a while the noise inside the house got to be too much for her and Arya slipped outside, grateful that the bonfire Mya had started in the pit was still burning. She took a deep breath of the salty sea air and felt her shoulders relax as she stepped closer to the fire.  </p><p>“Hey.” a soft voice caught her attention and Arya bit back a sigh of disappointment as she noticed Gendry on the other side of the fire, staring at her through the flames. </p><p>Figures, all she wanted for her birthday was to be alone and she didn’t even get that. </p><p>Arya gave him a halfhearted wave before sitting down in the sand across the fire from him, stretching her legs out towards the flames. The reflection of the flames made her bare skin look sickly and she frowned down at it before sighing and tilting her head back to look up at the sky.  </p><p>Even the stars here looked different than the ones at home. For one a lot more were visible here, Winterfell wasn’t a big city by Westeros standards but there was enough light pollution to dim out nearly all but the brightest of stars. Here though they were far enough on the outskirts of Storm’s End and with nothing but the ocean in front of them. Arya could see enough stars that she could never hope to count them all, even if she was the star counting type like Bran. </p><p>The noise from the house behind her faded to a dull hum as Arya stared up at the sky, leaning back on her elbows on the cold sand. If it wasn’t for the fact that she could feel Gendry’s eyes on her she might have been able to convince herself that she was totally alone. </p><p>Arya’s eyes drifted down from the stars to look across the fire at Gendry who was watching her with an unreadable expression across the flames. She started with surprise when he suddenly rose to his feet, surprisingly gracefully for a man of his size. He stepped around the fire and held a hand down towards her which Arya stared at wearily. </p><p>“Come on. I want to show you something.” Gendry grunted, staring at her expectantly until Arya slowly placed her hand in his. He pulled her to her feet so easily that she nearly stumbled and either she had drunk more than she had thought or his hand lingered on hers for a moment before letting go.  </p><p>Arya cast one last look over her shoulder at the bright lights of the house before following Gendry into the darkness. Her eyes adjusted quickly enough but it still came as a shock to her when cold water brushed over her toes.  </p><p>She jumped in spite of herself and Gendry muttered sheepishly from in front of her, “Sorry. Forget you’re not from here. It’s high tide.” </p><p>“Clearly.” Arya rolled her eyes even though she knew that he couldn’t see her. She knew she did it and that was enough. “What did you want to show me?”  </p><p>“That.” Gendry pointed out into the blackness that was the ocean looming before them and Arya followed the line of his arm and peered out at...absolute darkness. </p><p>She squinted and tilted her head to the side hoping that the slight change of view would allude her to what Gendry had brought her out here to see but still nothing. There was just the darkness of the sky and the slightly blacker darkness of the water.  </p><p>“I don’t see anything.” Arya admitted after a minute of silence in which she tried desperately to see what Gendry did. She hated admitting when she couldn’t do something.  </p><p>“You must not be looking in the right place.” Gendry said before pointing again. Arya peered out into the night and when once again she saw nothing but darkness, she let out a little huff of agitation. </p><p>“There’s nothing out there.” she said stubbornly causing Gendry to sigh in response and take a step behind her. Arya tensed slightly as he placed a hand on either side of her head (his palms were the size of her face; one person should not be this big) and softly tilted her head a few degrees to the left. Gendry removed one hand from her head to point straight in front of her and Arya followed the line of his finger back out into the darkness.  </p><p>For a long moment neither of them spoke and the only movement was the small brushes of water rushing over their bare feet. Arya peered stubbornly into the dark and just as she was about to give up and admit she still saw nothing the moon came out from behind the clouds and there was a sudden burst of water from out in the distance. </p><p>“Woah.” Arya breathed, taking a step forward, so focused on the large form cresting the water in the distance that she didn’t even notice the water rushing up to her shins. </p><p>“There’s a pod.” Gendry whispered, somehow it seemed like speaking in normal voices would scare the creatures away, despite the fact that they were hundreds of years away. This time when he guided her gaze in the direction of another whale breaking the surface Arya didn’t even flinch.  </p><p>They watched in silence across the dark water as the whales swam past them and out further into the ocean. Arya felt a pang in her chest as the last one drifted from sight. Part of her wished that she could go out there with them while another smaller part of her longed for her own pod, her own pack. </p><p>“How did you know they’d be here?” Arya whispered, even once the whales were gone it seemed strange to talk at a regular level in this darkness. </p><p>“I didn’t.” Gendry admitted, Arya tore her eyes off the water with some difficulty to look at him curiously. She could recognize the sheepish look on his face that was becoming commonplace around her and she felt something flutter in her chest at the sight of it. She silently blamed it on the beers as Gendry placed a hand lightly between her shoulder blades as they made their way back to the light of the fire.  </p><p> </p><p>“Are you okay?” Gendry asked cautiously as Arya angrily scarped food off a plate before placing the dishes in the tubs by the dishwasher. </p><p>“Peachy.” Arya snapped, barely managing to keep herself from slamming the plates down. She had already broken two that morning, she really didn’t need to damage any more property that wasn’t hers. </p><p>“Rude customer?” Gendry guessed as Arya marched to the sink to watch her hands. </p><p>She shook her head quickly, the table she’d just served was actually one of her favorite regulars. But even Davos’s good cheer wasn’t enough to break through the dark cloud of her mood that afternoon.  </p><p>“My mother called me.” Arya admitted angrily through her teeth, not because she felt like she owned Gendry an explanation but because if she didn’t get some frustration out some way she was going to explode. </p><p>Gendry looked at her curiously and Arya flexed her fingers as she found herself wishing that she smoked just so that she could have an excuse to go outside and do something with her hands.  </p><p>Thankfully he didn’t ask her any questions and he didn’t even seem that confused as to why talking to her mother would put her in such a state. Arya didn’t know how to explain it even if he did ask, it was a bit of a long story. Although not that long she supposed. Today’s conversation had just been more of the same shit she and her mother had been fighting over for the last three years. Catelyn was convinced her youngest daughter was throwing her life and her talents away. Today she told Arya it was because she was too lazy to go to school while also implying that she was too cowardly to attempt doing something where she might fail. Luckily Arya had already heard both of these arguments before so they didn’t sting nearly as bad the second and third time around.   </p><p>No, what stung was her mother’s endless spiels that Arya was ‘giving up her future’ to ‘waste away on a nomadic lifestyle.’ Arya didn’t understand why no one in her family would accept the fact that Arya’s future was never going to look like the one they imagined for her, not it if she had any say in it.  </p><p>The aftereffects of the fight still felt like they were roiling through her as Arya dried her hands and angrily wadded up the paper towel, as if she could crush her feelings as easily. Gendry watched her for a long moment before throwing the dishrag in his hands over his shoulder and peering down the line at Hot-Pie who was prepping the dinner special. </p><p>“You good if Arya and I take off early?” Gendry asked, already heading in the direction of the office before Hot-Pie nodded.  </p><p>Arya spluttered in outrage, catching Hot-Pie's curious look as she stomped after Gendry. “You’re kicking me out?” she spat, she knew she was in a bad mood but this was only making it worse. </p><p>Gendry looked over his shoulder at her sheepishly. “No, I just thought you’d want to get out of here. Go for a ride.”  </p><p>Arya glared at him with her arms crossed over her chest before the thought of racing her bike faster than her thoughts could keep up filled her. “Fine.” Arya ground out, shoving past him to grab her helmet from her locker. She barely remembered to clock out before she stomped out of the kitchen, her helmet on before she was even out the door.  </p><p>Gendry came out quickly behind her and before they had even revved their bikes Arya knew exactly what road they were headed for.  </p><p>The twisting curvy road leading to Durran’s Point left her mind just as blank as the first time she had been on it and Arya felt some of the tension in her body leave her by the time they reached the summit.  </p><p>Shoving off her helmet Arya quickly dismounted, suddenly filled with the need to keep moving. She remembered the times she had gone cliff jumping in Bravos, chasing adrenaline highs as her body crested over the cliffs and plummeted down to the blue green waters below. She knew that there were far too many rocks to jump from Durran’s Point, even if there weren’t the rocks to deal with the waves were too rough to swim out of and it was so high the fall would likely kill her. Even knowing all this Arya still found herself running towards the edge. She wasn’t going to jump, but she hoped the run would be enough to convince her body she was going to and she could get the rush anyway.  </p><p>Her feet ate up the stone beneath her boots and for a moment all she could see was the ocean, gray and stormy like her insides. She was just about to throw herself to the side to stop when Gendry’s arms snaked around her waist and pulled her backwards.  </p><p>Arya stumbled back against him, her breath rushing out of her like a wave. She felt a surge of disappointment that the turbulent feeling inside of her was still there as she sagged against Gendry’s chest, she could feel his heart beating erratically against her and his breath was fast in her ear.  </p><p>“What the bloody hell were you trying to do?” Gendry asked, his arms tightening around her like he was afraid she was going to pull away and run for the edge again.  </p><p>The maniac need to run sapped out of her and Arya let herself slump fully against Gendry, feeling him shift his stance to support her weight. </p><p>“I thought if I ran fast enough this feeling would go away.” Arya admitted softly, keeping her eyes on the water in front of her and trying to convince herself that was who she was bearing her heart too, not the man holding her up. </p><p>“What are you running from Arya?” Gendry asked, his voice soft in her ear. </p><p>Arya shook her head quickly, feeling the top of her scalp just barely brush against his chin. Gendry and her were only just starting to become friends. She didn’t want to taint that by talking about her family. </p><p>To her surprise Gendry didn’t press her for more answers but he didn’t let go of her either. Arya got her feet back underneath her but Gendry only tightened his arms around her like he was still afraid she would run for the edge. Arya wanted to find the words to tell him she hadn’t been planning on jumping but she also didn’t know how to say it without him thinking she was crazy. Cautiously Arya placed her hands on top of his arms and they stood in silence on the edge of the cliff watching the dark troubled sea roil before them.  </p><p> </p><p>Two days later and Arya still found it hard to look at Gendry after being so vulnerable on the cliff, even though he hadn’t brought it up at all. She supposed he had much bigger things to worry about than her little breakdown.  </p><p>The first weekend of summer was fast approaching and the dinner was in full swing preparations. Mya was getting ready to leave for adventure camp next weekend and her replacement, Lommy, had returned from college. He was a bit conceited and a lot annoying so Arya didn’t exactly have the greatest opinion of him just yet but according to Bella he was an acquired taste. Arya wanted to tell her she wouldn’t be sticking around long enough to acquire it but she had already been there three months and summer was the diner’s busiest season. It would feel like a dick move to abandon them during it.  </p><p>The Friday before tourist season (as the locals called it) started Arya sat on the steps leading down to the slightly crowded beach with her phone pressed to her ear and once again wishing that she smoked as her father sighed on the other line. She watched the locals play in the water and try to enjoy their beach as much as they could before the tourists got there. Although according to Hot-Pie this beach was usually pretty much only locals anyway.  </p><p>“Your mother is threatening to cut you off until you go to university.” her father admitted, his voice tired. Arya tapped her fingers on the sandy stair below her, feeling just as tired as his voice sounded. Three years was a long time to keep having the same fight. </p><p>“Go ahead.” Arya found herself saying, surprising them both.  </p><p>The moment the words left her mouth Arya knew that she should have said them a long time ago. It felt like a weight had lifted off her shoulders and she sat up straighter and watched the sun’s reflection on the water as she repeated, her voice stronger. “Go ahead.”  </p><p>She’d worked odd jobs here or there most places she had been too, usually just for a day or two, someone needing help moving or finishing a project. One time she helped wrangle in a lost flock of sheep. She’d always scrounged up enough to put the majority of the allowance her parents gave her into her savings account and she’d been working steadily at the diner for months now. She didn’t need her parent’s money to support her anymore and she should have stopped taking it the moment she left Winterfell.  </p><p>“Arya that’s not...” her father trailed off, clearly unsure of what to do with the curveball his daughter had just thrown him. The times the cut off had been threatened before Arya had always brushed it off, not taking it seriously which showed how well she knew her parents. Her mother might be furious for ‘the mess she was making of her life’ but she would never be able to sleep if she thought Arya was hurting financially.  </p><p>“Seriously dad. Do it.” Arya urged him, blinking sand out of her eyes at a sudden gust of wind. “I know you’ll both find this hard to believe but I’m actually supporting myself just fine without a college education.” A large wave broke against the rocks and Arya felt a knot in her chest untangle as she whispered, “I don’t need your money. And I don’t need your approval.” </p><p>Arya hung up while her lie lingered in the air. She wished her parents would approve of her, or at the very least stop resenting her choices so much.  </p><p>“Hey.” a familiar voice behind her made Arya start and she looked over her shoulder sheepishly at Gendry who sank down onto the step two up from hers.   </p><p>Arya smiled at him nervously, hoping he hadn’t overheard any of her conversation. She had heard enough of his rantings by now to know how he felt about rich people. She didn’t think anyone she worked with had made the connection between her last name and the multi-billion-dollar energy corporation in the North and she had every intention to keep it that way.  </p><p>“You ready for the rush tomorrow?” Gendry asked curiously causing Arya to relax. He didn’t have enough of a poker face to be that calm if he had overheard her. The wind must have carried her voice the other direction.  </p><p>“Course I am.” Arya shrugged. “It's just another Saturday, right?” </p><p>Gendry looked down at her in shock before a smile began to spread across his face. “Oh, you sweet summer child.” he clucked causing Arya to scoff at him. Everyone kept acting like opening summer weekend was some horrible gauntlet but Arya couldn’t understand why it would be that bad. She was sure they were all exaggerating although the sheer number of food Hot-Pie was prepping was making her a little nervous. </p><p>“Do you think I can handle it?” Arya asked instead, hoping to brush her nerves aside. </p><p>Gendry looked at her steadily as he responded, “I think you can handle anything.”  </p><p>A flush of pleasure rose over Arya at the words and she hoped her cheeks weren’t too red as Gendry offered her a hand to help her to her feet. As they headed back up to the diner together Arya had to work to wipe the small from her face knowing that if Bella caught sight of it the teasing and the questions would be endless.  </p><p> </p><p>It turned out that her coworkers had not been exaggerating.  </p><p>Arya had greatly underestimated what an insane shitshow opening summer weekend would be.  </p><p>She barely had enough time to think of anything other than table numbers and orders and by the time Monday rolled around she felt like she was dead on her feet. She had also made a month and a half of rent in one weekend so she was willing to admit the blisters on her feet and the burn on her arm were totally worth it.  </p><p>As summer wore on the patronage of the diner rose exponentially. Arya found that her tips were double of what she had been making before but at the same time so was the amount of rude customers. She supposed that was the price she had to pay but she still found herself swearing every time she stepped into the kitchen. </p><p>Her parents did indeed cut her off but Arya didn’t really care. Her bank account was just fine and now that her parents weren’t wiring her money every month, she no longer felt obligated to answer their weekly phone calls. She let her voicemail get full and forwarded every single call there except for Jon and Rickon’s as they were the only two she could count on not to pass on messages from her parents. Jon didn’t because he was the only one on her side about her not wanting to go to college and Rickon could sometimes be bribed into doing his parent’s bidding but the moment Arya threateningly said his name he switched topics with obvious relief.  </p><p>As the days grew hotter and longer Arya found herself spending more and more time with Gendry, it seemed like every other shift they left work they ended up doing something together. Usually Gendry took her down some desolate nearly deserted road to some beautiful scenic location she had never seen before. Other times he came over to hang out with Barra and Arya somehow always got roped into playing with them too, pointedly ignoring Bella’s knowing looks.  </p><p>She knew that Gendry was her boss and a former bane of her existence, but she could no longer pretend not to know what the flutter in her chest was every time he looked at her. She couldn’t blame the flush of her skin every time he touched her on the sun, nor could she say that her breath got short whenever he was near her was because the sea air was bad for her lungs.  </p><p>Arya had feelings for him. Big feelings judging by the fact that she could never seem to stop thinking about him.  </p><p>While she wanted to admit her feelings for Gendry (and maybe even hopefully act on them) Arya liked her job too much to say anything. Besides, she liked living with his sisters and staying in one place. If she told Gendry she liked him and he rejected her she would be way too embarrassed to stay. No, it was way better to sit and pine from afar than risk potential heartbreak. </p><p>Arya managed to convince herself of this pretty easily and for a few weeks she managed to keep her crush pretty easily at bay. Sure, she found herself looking at Gendry’s arms whenever he was carrying something heavy but she was only human after all. She managed to keep almost all thoughts about touching him away, even as they spent more and more time together. She’d always been very good at self-control. </p><p> </p><p>“Are you taking Barra to the carnival?” Arya asked him curiously one night as she turned the chairs up onto the tables so she could mop the floors.  </p><p>Gendry shrugged as he flipped the chairs on the tables on the other end of the diner. The two of them were closing that night after a practically long and grueling day. The summer carnival was that week and it brought in the highest flux of tourists during the season. Arya had never seen so many sunburnt sugar high kids in one day before. </p><p>“Bella takes her. I usually get off too late.” Gendry admitted. Arya believed it. Hot-Pie and him had been at the diner every day when Arya got there for her shift and usually, she left before both of them too. The three months of summer season made them more money than the rest of the year combined.  </p><p>“Are you going to go?” Gendry asked curiously, they were both at the middle tables now with only one table in between them.  </p><p>Arya bit her lip as she focused on the chair in her hands. She had no desire to go to a carnival alone but it might be fun to go with someone. Okay, it might be fun to go with Gendry. </p><p>She knew she had told herself not to act on her feelings but she was beginning to think that was a coward’s move and Arya knew that she was braver than that. </p><p>“You told me once you didn’t want me to think you were making moves on me because you’re my boss.” Arya said slowly, leaning her hip against the table as Gendry started in surprise before his brow furrowed. </p><p>“Technically I think you specifically told me not to make moves on you.” Gendry reminded her causing Arya to wave her hand as if she could brush the words away. </p><p>“That’s not the point.” she said breezily even though her heart was beating in her throat. She had not mentally prepared herself for this conversation. </p><p>“What is the point Arya?” Gendry asked softly, putting down the chair in his hands.  </p><p>Arya took a deep breath as she reminded herself to be brave and forced herself to meet his eyes as she spoke, “We never discussed if I’m allowed to make the moves on you.” </p><p>Her words hung between them for a long moment and Arya could hear her heartbeat in her ears. Just as she was starting to curse herself Gendry spoke, the sound of a smile in his words. </p><p>“I guess that can be allowed.”  </p><p>“Great.” Arya said considering leaving it at that because she could feel a flush settling over her chest. She had never felt so grateful to her t-shirt before. Reminding herself she was halfway there Arya managed to get out the next part of her question. “In that case do you want to go to the carnival with me?”  </p><p>This time the smile appeared on Gendry’s face as he nodded, “It’s a date.”  </p><p> </p><p>“We have to go on the Ferris wheel! It’s carnival tradition.” Arya insisted, reaching for Gendry’s hand and pulling him after her through the waning crowd.  </p><p>He protested lightly but let her pull him along towards the line. The good thing about how late Gendry got off work was that the majority of the parents with small children had already gone home for the night so the crowds weren’t half as bad as Bella had warned her they would be. </p><p>“It’s dark out. We won’t be able to see anything.” Gendry protested as they neared the front of the line, neither having let go of the other’s hand.  </p><p>“That doesn’t matter.” Arya rolled her eyes as she passed the bored teenager manning the booth their tickets.  </p><p>“I can’t believe you’re making me do this.” Gendry muttered as he slid next to her on the bench seat. Arya pulled the bar down over their laps and grinned at him as the ride began to move. Gendry reflexively reached for the bar, his hands closing around it in a white-knuckle grip as they came to a stop so the bench below them could get filled and Arya’s brows rose in realization. </p><p>“You’re afraid of heights.” she said slowly, guilt coursing through her as she realized she made him go on the tallest ride there.  </p><p>“Not afraid.” Gendry protested, not looking up from his hands. “Just not a fan.”  </p><p>“I should have realized.” Arya shook her head and placed her hand on his on the bar. He hadn’t protested for any of the other rides she’d drug him on even if he had looked a little green after the tilt-a-whirl. They’d been on their way out of the carnival when Arya remembered the Ferris wheel.  </p><p>“No big deal.” Gendry whispered as they began to move again, this time for the ride proper. The bench swung a little beneath them and Gendry’s hand tightened underneath hers. “Can you distract me please?”  </p><p>Arya paused for a moment as she tried to think up a conversation that would engage Gendry enough to keep his mind off the fact that they were going higher. She cast a desperate look out into the scattered lights of the city before an idea came to her and she lifted her hand off of his to place her palms on either side of his face. Gendry slowly looked up from his feet to meet her eyes curiously. Arya smiled at him softly before leaning forward and kissing him. </p><p>He tasted like the too sweet cotton candy they’d shared earlier and his lips were soft and hesitate under hers. Fearing that her idea wasn’t the right one Arya made to pull away when Gendry placed a hand in her hair and pulled her back to him.  </p><p>She’d kissed Gendry to distract him from the height but now that his lips were on hers Arya found it was all she could think about. He invaded her every sense and she wrapped her arms around his back to pull her even closer to her, making the bench sway dangerously. Dimly she was aware of whistles and catcalls but it was dark and she hadn’t seen a child around in hours so she didn’t really care. Besides she’d seen more than one couple making out when they’d boarded.  </p><p>Arya felt Gendry twist his fingers into her hair and his tongue run over her bottom lip. She had just opened her mouth when they came to a sudden halt. Arya pulled away slowly, Gendry looking at her with pupils blown wide as the teenager manning the booth spoke in a bored voice, “Rides over. If you want to go again its two more tickets.” </p><p>Gendry didn’t look away from Arya as he reached into his pockets and threw a handful of tickets at the boy who sighed in disgust before starting the ride again. They were already kissing before the machine even started to move, raising them once more up into the night.  </p><p> </p><p>Arya didn’t know what it said about her and Gendry’s working relationship that not a single person at the diner was surprised to learn that they were dating but she tried not to think about that for too long. </p><p>Being with Gendry was easy even if he did still manage to piss her off faster than anyone she’d ever met. Neither of them were into super serious conversations and the few they had were so rare and so quick that Arya barely even noticed them until they were over and she was alone again. Gendry wanted to know more about her family and her life before she ended up at his diner. Arya was all too happy to tell him stories about her travels and even some of Winterfell, usually staring Jon, but whenever he tried to ask her about her family or what caused her to seek out a life on the road she clammed up or changed the subject until he got the hint and stopped bringing it up. Arya didn’t like the idea of being in a relationship with secrets but she just didn’t know how to explain her family and her falling out without sounding like a spoiled rich girl to Gendry.  </p><p>Thankfully, most of the time things with her and Gendry were good, great even. Sure, they still snapped at each other sometimes but now it was almost like a game. A game where they were usually both winners at the end. </p><p>Arya should have learned by now that all good things had to come to an end and secrets always caught up with you one way or another. Still, it was such a shock to find Sansa and Robb sitting in her section one Monday afternoon that Arya very nearly dropped the tray in her arms at the sight of them.   </p><p>She had never dropped food off at a table so quickly in her life and she could feel a muscle in her jaw twitching as she walked up to their table, Sansa staring at her in distaste and Robb shifting uncomfortably. </p><p>“What are you doing here?” Arya hissed, keeping an eye out behind her to make sure none of the other staff were within earshot. </p><p>“Mom sent us.” Sansa said defensively, tapping her fingers against her water glass. Arya wanted to snatch it away from her at the sight.  </p><p>Arya opened her mouth to ask how they even knew where to find her but the question died in her throat as she realized Jon was the only one who knew exactly where she worked. Her heart stung with betrayal that must have been obvious on her face because Robb spoke quickly in his defense. </p><p>“We made him tell us. We were um...relentless.” Robb admitted sheepishly. Even knowing how headstrong her siblings (and admittedly herself) could be Arya found the sting of betrayal did not lessen with this knowledge. Jon knew full well how badly she hadn’t wanted to be found.  </p><p>“I’m working. We’ll talk later.” Arya huffed, spinning away from them as Lommy approached the table beside theirs.  </p><p>The next hour and half passed far faster than Arya would have preferred and she almost offered to take one of Bella’s tables and let her go home first but she knew that it would only get worse the more she made her siblings wait. She grabbed her things from the office and bid Gendry a quick goodbye, grateful that he had to stay and work late that night as she headed out onto the floor and nodded at her siblings to follow her.  </p><p>By the time they reached the edge of the parking lot Arya realized that she had been wrong to try to delay this inevitable fight. She should have dragged them outside the moment she saw them. Now they had all had too much time to sit and stew in their anger and Arya felt ready to burst out of her skin at the slightest provocation.  </p><p>“Why did mom send you?” Arya asked, whirling around when she reached the end of the parking lot and had nowhere left to go.  </p><p>“You need to come home.” Sansa said stubbornly, her jaw set. </p><p>A pit seemed to form in Arya’s stomach as she looked between her siblings. “Is someone sick? Is everyone okay?” </p><p>Sansa’s face softened slightly at the worry in Arya’s tone. “Everyone’s fine. Mom is just really worried about you. She said you won’t take any money from them anymore?” </p><p>Arya huffed in indigitation; her previous worries forgotten. It figures her parents had spun the story to make her seem like the unreasonable one. “She threatened to cut me off so I did it for them!”  </p><p>“She just wants what’s best for you.” Robb said placatingly. “We all do.” </p><p>“Then why won’t any of you let me decide what’s best for me?” Arya snapped, crossing her arms and turning away from her siblings to glare at the ocean. “I’m not going with you so you can just stop wasting all of our time.”  </p><p>“Arya is this really what you want? What future do you think you have here?” Sansa asked causing Arya to shake her head. She did have a future here even if it wasn’t one that her family would have chosen for her. Here she had people who liked her for her, here she had the sea, here she had a job that actually interested her, here she had Gendry.   </p><p>“Why do you even care?” Arya snapped, glaring at Sansa from the corner of her eye. </p><p>“Because you’re my sister and I want you to do something with your life.” Sansa snapped back, her eyes hidden behind her sunglasses. Arya could picture the familiar glare there easy enough and she turned back to the water with a shake of her head. </p><p>“Well I want to do something with my life too. <i>Live it</i>.” Arya said stubbornly, refusing to look at her siblings for the next several minutes as they pleaded with her to come back to Winterfell with her. It was all conversation she had heard before from them or her parents at one time or another. It didn’t have any more effect on her in person than it did over the phone she was pleased to find. Although it might have stung a little bit more. She refused to acknowledge them and finally they caved first. </p><p>“Just come home Arya. You’re better than all this.” Robb said as they were leaving and Arya shoved off the hand he had placed on her shoulder.  </p><p>“You go home. Go tell mom you did what they wanted. You tried but I am staying where I am.” Arya refused to give her siblings the satisfaction of looking at them so she spoke to the water instead, telling herself her eyes were swimming because of the brightness, not the emotions coursing through her. “I don’t need their money and if none of you are going to respect my life choices and love me for who I choose to be than you don’t need to speak to me again until you do.” </p><p>Neither Robb nor Sansa said anything for a long moment and then there was the sound of their footsteps walking away. Arya shook her head at herself, her grand little speech wasn’t going to have done any good. She knew without them saying it that they would be back again tomorrow. And the next day and the next until either their patience cracked or Arya did. Luckily, she had always been the most stubborn of any of the Starks so she knew they would break first. That didn’t mean it was going to be a fun time for her though. </p><p>Taking a deep breath Arya wiped away the single tear that had managed to escape and turned towards her bike. She stumbled to a stop when she noticed a familiar figure hovering next to it.  </p><p>“How much of that did you hear?” she asked softly as she approached Gendry who was looking at her like he had never truly seen her before.  </p><p>“You never told me you were one of <i>those</i> Starks.” Gendry said instead, staring after the rental car her siblings had just driven away in.  </p><p>“What?” Arya asked in surprise, she had thought he was going to ask her if she was okay but instead he was glaring at her like she had personally offended him.  </p><p>“I recognize your brother. Heir to the kingdom, isn’t he?” Gendry turned his head to glare down the road after the car and Arya shook her head at him, feeling the anger still lingering from the fight with her siblings flare white hot again. </p><p>“It’s not like that.” Arya snapped. Just because she was on the outs with her family didn’t mean she was going to stand by and let someone talk bad about them. </p><p>Gendry crossed his arms over his chest and turned his glare in her direction. “Is this job just a game to you? Some rebellious rich girl phase slumming it with us blue collar workers? Or are you reporting your findings on how the other half lives to your daddy?”  </p><p>Arya started at him in shock for a moment before she felt her hackles begin to raise. “It's not like that. I’m not like that. How can you even think such things about me?” she snapped, even though Gendry was already shaking his head at her.  </p><p>“You lied to me about who you are this whole time.”  Gendry said, some of the anger falling from his face to show the hurt that had been hiding behind it.  </p><p>“I didn’t lie to you!” Arya insisted. </p><p>“I’ve asked you about your family a hundred times!” Gendry exploded, his height seeming to loom over her. “You never told me who they were!” </p><p>“Because I knew you would react like this!” Arya protested waving her hands to indicate the anger he was feeling. </p><p>Gendry glared at her for a long moment before shaking his head and stepping away from her. Arya felt her heart drop at the sight of that tiny step, far worse than it had during the entire fight with her siblings.  </p><p>“Your siblings are right. It’s time for this little phase of yours to be over.” Gendry’s eyes were like two chips of ice as he stared at her. “Real life beckons Arya. Better get to it.” </p><p>Arya scoffed before she really took in the serious expression on his face and her throat went suddenly dry. “Are you dumping me or firing me?”  </p><p>Gendry scowled at her before shoving his hands in his pockets. “You clearly don’t need this job. And you clearly don’t trust me.”  </p><p>Shaking her head Arya felt that white hot anger take hold of her again. This day was going nothing like she had thought it would. First her siblings showed up unannounced and berated her and now Gendry was blaming her for one little white lie? She was done with this. She was done with all of this. This was what happened when you stayed still for too long. Your past always caught up with you and in her case, it always torpedoed through her future.  </p><p>“Fine. I quit.” Arya stalked past Gendry to get to her bike, shoving the key in the ignition and turning the throttle to drone out Gendry’s words. She saw him reach for the handle bars but she peeled out of the lot before he managed to make contact.  </p><p>As she sped through town, she told herself that the tears falling from her eyes were simply because of the wind. </p><p> </p><p>After a night of fruitless tossing and turning Arya wasn’t surprised to realize that her anger hadn’t gone away while she slept, if anything it had taken root inside of her and sprung up even stronger than before. She was still fuming when she finished shoving everything she owned into her bag. She knew that she was being a little bit ridiculous, she should just go to the diner and talk to Gendry now that they had both had time to calm down (even if she was still miles away from calm). But Arya had always been far too stubborn for her own good and her pride would simply not let her be the first one to apologize. Not for this.    </p><p>She didn’t know what she was doing or where she was going to go. She just knew that the only reason she had stayed in this town was Seaside Diner and she had quit it last night so there wasn’t exactly anything holding her here now. She had feigned sleep when Bella got home that evening so that she didn’t have to hear about how happy Gendry was that she quit, busy season be damned.  </p><p>Arya shouldered her bag and got on her bike, glad that the visor would hide her red rimmed eyes. At least if she left early enough her siblings wouldn’t be able to catch up with her. She had been surprised to come home and not find them waiting for her but she supposed if they had chosen to meet her at the diner it was because Jon hadn’t given up where she lived. Small favor that was, Jon was definitely high on her shit list at the moment.  </p><p>She had debated leaving a note for Bella and Barra to find to explain her absence but she couldn’t think of anything to say to explain this so instead Arya left her key on the counter and told herself she would come up with something to text Bella before night fell. Arya sped out of the neighborhood, refusing to even look over her shoulder at the little house while she lingered at the stop sign. She hadn’t said a goodbye in so long she had forgotten how painful they could feel. </p><p>Arya sped down the coastal roads but instead of feeling free like she usually did on her bike she only felt herself grow more and more tense. She spotted a familiar worn path and almost without meaning to she turned her bike down it. Penrose Path was nearly empty even during the height of summer season and as Arya came to a stop at the end of the road, she felt a knot form in her stomach at the thought of leaving without saying goodbye. Just because she was pissed at Gendry and her family didn’t mean she couldn’t give her other friends a proper goodbye in person. They had done so much for her over the past few months, they deserved that at the very least. And even more than that, Arya deserved to feel like she was leaving somewhere without running away. She didn’t want to leave feeling like she had ghosts nipping at her heels.  </p><p>The ride back into town passed in a blur and Arya pulled into the nearly full parking lot of the diner and felt the knot in her stomach loosen. She quickly jumped off her bike and began to walk towards the back door. As she took off her helmet, she caught sight of a familiar figure standing down by the waves.  </p><p>Arya was still nearly full to the brim with anger but she grit her teeth and headed down the steps anyway. She wasn’t about to apologize but she hated the feeling like Gendry was getting the last word between them so she stopped halfway down the sand to drop off her helmet and her bag, kicking her shoes off into the sand and rolling up her pants leg with a grumble. She still didn’t understand why Gendry had freaked out on her like he had, and really was he that pissed about her past that he would throw away what they were forming together? Still grumbling Arya headed out into the waves towards Gendry.  </p><p>A wave crashed over her knees, soaking her pant legs and Arya cursed at the sensation of her jeans clinging to her skin. Gendry looked over his shoulder at her at the sound and she saw the moment his face shuttered before he looked away again. Arya grit her teeth and waded out further into the water.  </p><p>Gendry was standing where the water hit him at mid-thigh so the water was past Arya’s waist when she finally reached him. She didn’t mind the cold very much but it wasn’t doing anything to make her anger calm down any.  </p><p>She crossed her arms over her chest and stared stubbornly straight ahead at the waves. She had already walked into the freaking ocean for him, he could be the first one to speak. They were both too stubborn for their own good and minutes passed in silence as they stood and the waves rolled over them or broke against them. Arya flinched as a large wave hit her mid chest. She was going to be soaking wet by the time this was over.  </p><p>Even though Arya had seen people on the beach as she had walked out there they were so scattered around and her and Gendry far enough out that she couldn’t hear any other sound except for the churning of the ocean and her and Gendry’s breath. Arya desperately wanted to break the silence but now that she was beside him, she didn’t know if she wanted to yell at him or apologize, although she wasn’t really sure for what. She simply refused to apologize for the family that she had been born into.  </p><p>Arya curled her toes into the sand beneath her as another wave broke across her stomach. The waves here were hard enough to leave bruises. She’d already grown accustomed to the chill of the water and she wasn’t shivering, despite her sodden clothes. Her Northern blood still ran strong even after all these years.  </p><p>Oddly it was the thought of her blood that made her finally break the silence. “I didn’t lie. And it’s not my fault I was born into a rich family.” Arya said stubbornly, still staring resolutely out at the water.  </p><p>“That’s not what I’m mad about.” Gendry said softly, causing Arya to look over at him in surprise. Gendry turned to look down at her, his face surprisingly open as he admitted, “I don’t care that you’re rich. I care that you hid it from me. It’s like you don’t think I'm worthy of knowing who you truly are.”  </p><p>Arya was shaking her head before he even finished his last sentence. “That’s not why I didn’t tell you.” she insisted, continuing on when Gendry was still looking at her doubtfully. “I didn’t tell you because I’m used to being judged based off my family’s name or their money. I’m sick of it. I want to be defined by my own merit, not my family’s.”  </p><p>A long moment passed while Gendry thought this over before he gave one thoughtful nod. “I can understand that. I’m used to being judged because of my family too, even though we have no money.”  </p><p>Arya nudged his arm lightly, “I’ve never judged you.” Arya paused before admitting, “Well except when you eat French fires with mayo. That’s just wrong.”   </p><p>Gendry laughed in surprise before smiling at her and Arya felt like the world had righted itself for the first time since yesterday afternoon.  </p><p>“Are you going to leave with your family?” Gendry asked hesitantly, and Arya found herself pleased by how relieved he looked when she shook her head no. “You know you can still have your job at the diner. Or you can go to college and get some big fancy job. Whatever you want.”  </p><p>Arya felt her heart soar at those words. She had waited so long for someone to say them too her. “I don't think college is for me.” Arya admitted, surprised by how much lighter she felt after she said the words. “That’s not me.”  </p><p>“What is you?” Gendry asked thoughtfully.  </p><p>“I’m still figuring that out.” Arya admitted, chewing on her bottom lip as she continued. “I just know I feel more at home here than anywhere else I’ve been, and I don’t think that’s just because of the town.” Arya looked at Gendry softly as the waves crashed against them.  </p><p>She felt his hand brush hers under the water and she threaded her fingers through his and felt the last bit of nerves in her chest unravel at his touch.  </p><p>She knew that she might never live up to her family’s expectations but Arya held onto hope that one day they would live up to hers and learn to love her for who she was. Until then, she had her friends and she had Gendry and she had the sea. Arya didn’t really know what else she could ask for.     </p><p>Arya leaned her head against Gendry’s arm and they stood and watched the waves in silence as the sun shone down on them. Her feet were going numb from the cold but she didn’t feel any desire to move. For once, Arya was happy right where she was.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>cry with me about Gendrya on tumblr  <a href="https://lumierelalune.tumblr.com/">@lumierelalune</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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